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Spain win the World Cup as Rodri reigns supreme
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Messi's Farewell — The End of an Era
At 19:54 · chapter starts 19:08
Gary Lineker turns the conversation to Messi, noting that the genius of Spain's game plan — keeping the ball away from him for the entire match — effectively neutralised the greatest player ever seen. The question of his retirement hangs in the air. Joe Cole believes this is the end: the emotion on Messi's face after the final whistle said everything, and Cole thinks he is intelligent enough to know when his moment has passed on the international stage [1] — Gary Lineker "Messi almost certainly played his last game for Argentina in this final. The panel felt for him — but agreed the embrace between him and Sp…" 19:08 . Cole would like to see Argentina give him one final send-off at home, where his own fans can properly give him his flowers — though Lineker points out they've already done it once and should probably just do it every year. Alan Shearer coins the line of the segment: the embrace between Messi and Spain's young stars might be 'a passing of the torch, possibly' — a moment that could become one of football's genuinely iconic images.
Messi almost certainly played his last game for Argentina in this final. The panel felt for him — but agreed the embrace between him and Spain's young stars may be one of football's truly iconic images, a passing of the torch to the next generation.
